Electrical switching behavior of bulk As–Te–Si glasses: composition dependence and topological effects

Abstract

The current–voltage characteristics and electrical switching behavior of bulk As₃₀Te_70-xSi_x (2≤x≤22) and As₄₀Te_60-xSi_x (2≤x≤17) glasses have been investigated over a wide range of compositions. The glasses studied have been found to exhibit a current-controlled negative-resistance behavior and memory switching. Further, the switching voltage (V_t) is found to increase linearly with sample thickness in the range of 0.15 mm to 0.45 mm, and it decreases linearly with temperature (300–353 K). It is also observed that the variation of the switching voltage V_t of As–Te–Si glasses exhibits a sharp slope change at an average coordination number 〈r〉=2.46 (for both tie lines), which is associated with the rigidity percolation in the system. Further, a minimum is seen in the switching voltage V_t at an average coordination number 〈r〉=2.66, which is likely to be the chemical threshold of the system.